A new Woody Allen movie set in San Francisco

“Blue Jasmine” directed and written by Woody Allen, stars: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Sally Hawkins.

There is a good reason for Bay area residents to rush and see “Blue Jasmine”, the latest film by Woody Allen. It was filmed right here in the Bay Area. Even though the director focused mostly on the characters and less on the city, the movie showcases a brief glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin hilltops, Mission Street, where elegant New York socialite Jasmine moves into her sister’s apartment, as well as scenes of her walking through Chinatown, along with some conversations about living in Marin County.

Woody Allens\’s Blue Jasmine

San Francisco was not the only place where the movie was set. The other was New York. The action alternates between those two cities, as well as alternating between the present and the past. These two cities are associated with the life of the main heroine, named Jasmine (Cate Blanchett). On the East Coast she was a wealthy and glamorous wife of a successful businessman (Alec Baldwin), and on the West Coast, she moved on “like a pioneer”, when her lifelong marriage and financial stability fell apart forcing her to live with her working class sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins).
Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” is almost like a contemporary version of Elia Kazan’s 1951 classic, “A Street Car Named Desire”, from the Tennessee Williams screenplay. The memorable female characters, Blanche (Vivien Leigh), Blanche’s sister, Stella (Kim Hunter) are quite similar to the complicity of the story of two sisters. Although the sisters have lived in different worlds for most of their lives but when Jasmine needs some help, Ginger takes her in. Just like Blanche, Jasmine criticizes her younger sister Ginger for her bad taste in men. However, instead of just the one male character (Stella’s husband, Stanley Kowalski played by Marlon Brando) that was the main distraction of the two sisters in “Streetcar”, “Blue Jasmine”, has more male characters for the women to contend with, including the ex-husband, ex-boyfriends, and the occasional partners.

Does this variety of opportunities bring stability to their lives?

Throughout his illustrious film career, Woody Allen has written and created many incredible multi faceted and complex female characters for some of the world’s best actresses. Jasmine, played by the extraordinary, Cate Blanchett, is no exception.

Opens August 2 at: Clay Theater in San Francisco, Metreon in San Francisco, Albany Twin in Albany, Century 16 in Pleasant Hill, Santana Row in San Jose, Camera 7 in San Jose, CineArts@Palo Alto Square in Palo Alto, Regency Cinemas Six in San Rafael

Opens August 9 at Piedmont Theatre in Oakland